Chapter 1

1

My twin sister and I were spirit fox shifters. To secure our pack's standing, we were sent to mate into the royal Phoenix Clan.

The proud First Prince took one look at my radiant six-tailed beauty and claimed me on the spot. My sickly older sister was left with no choice but to marry the neglected Second Prince.

During our decades of marriage, I exhausted every ounce of my life force just to birth a fragile common sparrow. My sister, however, bore eight consecutive litters of noble phoenix heirs for the Second Prince.

Overjoyed, the Phoenix King immediately passed the crown to his younger son.

Blaming me for ruining his destiny, the First Prince severed my limbs, stripped away my cultivation, and slaughtered both me and my child.

Now, I have been reborn. This time, the First Prince adamantly chooses my sister, determined to claim the throne.

What he does not realize is that my sister is no fragile wildflower. She is ruthless, vengeful, and violently protective of me.

More importantly, she carries a deadly secret. She was reborn too.

***

To elevate their royal bloodline, the Phoenix Clan sought an alliance with our spirit fox lineage.

My sister Celeste and I were born as twin fox shifters. Our mother died in childbirth, which made our father despise our very existence.

To elevate his own status and secure the title of Fox Lord, he offered us to the Phoenix Clan without hesitation.

In my previous life, Prince Corbin, the First Prince of the Phoenix Clan, chose me because of my rare six-tailed white fox lineage. He believed only my high-tier blood was worthy of producing royal heirs. He could not wait to claim me, leaving my frail four-tailed sister to wed the disgraced Second Prince, Gideon.

Yet during decades of marriage, no matter what sacred elixirs I consumed, I only managed to birth a single sparrow. Meanwhile, Celeste gave Gideon eight litters of glorious, pureblooded phoenixes.

Corbin burned with jealousy. He locked my child and me in the dungeons, subjecting us to endless torment.

When Celeste gave birth to an ultra-rare Prismatic Phoenix, the Phoenix King was so thrilled that he crowned Gideon on the spot.

Corbin went completely insane with rage. He blamed me for dragging him down, insisting that my tainted womb had ruined his noble bloodline. On the day of Gideon's coronation, Corbin severed my limbs and destroyed my core.

I endured the agony down to my bones, begging him on my knees to spare my innocent baby.

"Keeping this bastard alive is an insult to the heavens!" Corbin sneered cold-bloodedly. "Once both of you are dead, I will take a pure consort and breed real phoenixes!"

He slaughtered my child and me right before my eyes.

The drowning hatred consumed my soul as I died. I swore that if there were an afterlife, I would tear Corbin to shreds.

When I opened my eyes again, I was standing in the grand royal hall on the day of the mating ceremony.

Looking at Celeste standing beside me, tears welled up in my eyes. I instinctively reached out and grabbed the hem of her sleeve.

Assuming I was nervous, Celeste gave me a soft, reassuring smile.

Moments later, the Phoenix King entered with his two sons. The moment Corbin walked into the room, my body froze. I dug my fingernails deep into my palms, forcing myself to remain calm.

Behind us, our spirit fox auras flared to display our true shifter ranks.

Corbin stepped forward, his eyes blazing with excitement. "Father, I choose Celeste to be my primary consort."

I stole a glance at Corbin and caught the lingering hatred in his gaze toward me, along with the manic greed in his eyes as he looked at my sister.

Corbin had been reborn too.

A heavy weight lifted off my chest. I would not have to suffer at his hands again.

He genuinely believed that choosing Celeste would guarantee him eight phoenix heirs and the royal crown.

What the fool never knew was that his own essence was defective from birth. In my past life, giving birth to even a common sparrow had required every drop of my sacrificial magic.

Seeing Corbin pass over my superior six-tailed form for Celeste's four tails, the Phoenix King frowned. "Corbin, you possess the highest potential among our flock. This alliance concerns the future of our realm. Do not act on a whim."